Analysing Liverpool ahead of Sunday’s Premier League clash

Anfield stages the weekend’s marquee Premier League meeting on Sunday, 8 February, with a 16:30 GMT kick-off that could shape the trajectory of both clubs’ seasons. Once the fixture that defined English title races, the rivalry now finds each side in reconstruction mode, searching for the consistency that turned their recent duels into classics.

Liverpool arrive buoyed by a dramatic reversal in form. Between matchweeks six and 12 they lost six league games—more than any other side—but since late November only a single defeat, a 3-2 thriller at Bournemouth, has blemished an otherwise immaculate 12-match record. The resurgence has lifted Arne Slot’s team to sixth place on 39 points from 24 matches, yet the gap to the summit illustrates the scale of the task ahead if the Reds are to retain the crown they captured so memorably last May.

Tactical tweaks have underpinned the revival. Slot, who steered Feyenoord to the Eredivisie title before moving to Merseyside, has shifted Liverpool into a 4-2-3-1 anchored by summer signing Hugo Ekitike. The French striker has quickly emerged as the focal point, registering ten league goals in his debut English campaign. Behind him, Florian Wirtz is settling into the No. 10 role, while Mohamed Salah continues to patrol the right flank and Cody Gakpo holds the left. The midfield double pivot rotates among Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister depending on match-up, offering both ball progression and defensive bite.

At the back, Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konaté remain the senior partnership in front of Alisson Becker, whose save percentage of 61.7 ranks only 21st among the 28 Premier League keepers to feature this term. Full-backs Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong provide width, instructed to push high and overlap the wingers, a ploy that leaves Liverpool vulnerable to counters and set pieces—16 of their 33 conceded goals have arrived from dead-ball situations, the fifth-worst record in the division.

Numbers highlight both encouragement and concern. Liverpool’s 39 goals have come from 38.7 expected goals, indicating clinical finishing rather than wastefulness, yet that tally is less than half the 86 they plundered en route to last season’s championship. They have attempted 372 shots—second only to Manchester United—while their 554 completed passes per match trails only Sunday’s opponents. Crucially, they are the league’s second-most prolific side after the interval, with 26 of their 39 goals arriving in the second half and a league-leading 14 coming inside the final 15 minutes, evidence of a relentless late push.

Slot’s personal record remains formidable. Across 62 Premier League fixtures he has won 36, yielding a points-per-game average of 1.98 that places him behind only Pep Guardiola (2.28) among managers to have taken charge of at least ten matches. Still, the Dutchman acknowledges that the sophomore season has delivered fresh challenges, and Sunday offers an immediate litmus test against a visiting team that has dominated recent head-to-head encounters.

Indeed, Anfield has been an unhappy hunting ground for the travelling side, who have won only once in their last 22 Premier League visits, losing 14 and drawing seven. That lone victory, however, came in February 2021 when they arrived as reigning champions and left with a statement 4-1 triumph. A 3-0 home success in November means they can complete a first league double over Liverpool since 1936-37, a statistic that adds historical spice to the modern-day narrative.

With Arsenal in action 24 hours earlier, the pressure to keep pace at the top intensifies. Liverpool’s late surges, set-piece frailties and retooled attack will confront a side eager to translate cup-final momentum into three priceless points. Expect fireworks under the Anfield lights.

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